Olmsted County, Minnesota

Olmsted County, Minnesota
Seal
Location in the state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 20, 1855 [1]
Named for	David Olmsted, the first mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Seat	Rochester
Largest city	Rochester
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	654.50 sq mi (1,695 km²) 653.01 sq mi (1,691 km²) 1.49 sq mi (4 km²), 0.23%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	144,248 190/sq mi (73/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.olmsted.mn.us

Olmsted County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, founded in 1855^[1] As of 2010, the population was 144,248.^[2] Its county seat and largest city is Rochester^[3].

Olmsted County is part of the Rochester, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 654.50 square miles (1,695.1 km²), of which 653.01 square miles (1,691.3 km²) (or 99.77%) is land and 1.49 square miles (3.9 km²) (or 0.23%) is water.^[4] It is one of four counties in the state with no natural lakes.

Lakes

Although Olmsted County contains no natural lakes, it does have six reservoirs created by dams.

• Chester Lake: Eyota Township
• Lake Florence: High Forest Township
• Lake George: Rochester Township
• Mayowood Lake: Rochester Township
• Silver Lake: Haverhill Township and Cascade Township
• Lake Zumbro (partially): Oronoco Township

Major highways

Interstate 90 U.S. Highway 14 U.S. Highway 52 U.S. Highway 63 Minnesota State Highway 30

Minnesota State Highway 42 Minnesota State Highway 74 Minnesota State Highway 247 Olmsted County Highway 22

Adjacent counties

• Wabasha County (north)
• Winona County (east)
• Fillmore County (south)
• Mower County (southwest)
• Dodge County (west)
• Goodhue County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	9,524		—
1870	19,793		107.8%
1880	21,543		8.8%
1890	19,806		−8.1%
1900	23,119		16.7%
1910	22,497		−2.7%
1920	28,014		24.5%
1930	35,426		26.5%
1940	42,658		20.4%
1950	48,228		13.1%
1960	65,532		35.9%
1970	84,104		28.3%
1980	92,006		9.4%
1990	106,470		15.7%
2000	124,277		16.7%
2010	144,248		16.1%
U.S. Decennial Census

Age pyramid of county residents based on 2000 U.S. census data.

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 124,277 people, 47,807 households, and 32,317 families residing in the county. The population density was 190 people per square mile (73/km²). There were 49,422 housing units at an average density of 76 per square mile (29/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.33% White, 2.68% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 4.27% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.92% from other races, and 1.51% from two or more races. 2.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 33.7% were of German, 16.1% Norwegian, 8.0% Irish and 5.2% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 47,807 households out of which 35.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.70% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.00% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 32.20% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $51,316, and the median income for a family was $61,610. Males had a median income of $40,196 versus $29,994 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,939. About 3.80% of families and 6.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.70% of those under age 18 and 9.50% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

The Helleckson Homestead, built about 1850, preserved in Olmsted County Oxbow Park.

Olmsted County Government Center.

Cities	Townships		Unincorporated
Byron Chatfield † Dover Eyota Oronoco Pine Island ‡ Rochester Stewartville	Cascade Township Dover Township Elmira Township Eyota Township Farmington Township Haverhill Township High Forest Township Kalmar Township Marion Township	New Haven Township Orion Township Oronoco Township Pleasant Grove Township Quincy Township Rochester Township Rock Dell Township Salem Township Viola Township	Chester Danesville Douglas Genoa Pleasant Grove Post Town Potsdam Ringe Salem Corners	Shanty Town Simpson Viola

† Chatfield is in both Olmsted and Fillmore County.
‡ Pine Island is mainly in Goodhue County but extends into Olmsted County.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Olmsted County, Minnesota

References

1. ^ "Minnesota Government Series, State Counties". Minnesota House of Representatives. http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/govseries/No33.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-18. .
2. ^ "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST05&prodType=table. Retrieved 25 April 2011. 
3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
4. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
5. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• County website

Coordinates: 44°00′N 92°24′W / 44.00°N 92.40°W / 44.00; -92.40